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2016 is shaping up to be a potential breakthrough year for the Libertarian Party, and there’s only one candidate who has the seriousness, credibility, and principles to lead the Libertarian ticket: the former Governor of New Mexico, and the most successful Libertarian presidential candidate in over thirty years: Gary Johnson. As Johnson is the first to acknowledge, the Libertarian nomination process is open, competitive, and ongoing. So far we’ve had Steve Kerbel and Marc Allan Feldman on the show, and have found them both perfectly agreeable gentlemen. We’ve seen Austin Petersen and John McAfee bring a dash of controversy to the race. None of them have given any indication that they could be, or are serious about trying to become, the next President of the United States. None of them have given any indication they could earn serious media coverage or vote totals for the Libertarian Party in 2016. Some of them say they intend to focus on building the party instead of doing those things. The more likely result, is that a campaign ostensibly focused on party-building instead of earning votes, will not do a very good job of either. We have also seen efforts from some quarters, to promote their preferred alternatives for the nomination, with grossly negative attacks and malicious smears and whisper campaigns. These attempts have been unpersuasive, and we don’t expect them to become any more persuasive with repetition. When the delegates to the Libertarian National Convention gather in Orlando at the end of May, we will be presenting to the nation our choice for President of the United States. As a successful two-term Governor and entrepreneur, Johnson is not only qualified to be President, he’s better-qualified than what we usually get for the office. A self-made millionaire, experimental aircraft pilot, and world-class mountain climber and triathlete, he has a personal story to match his credentials. On the issues and message, instead of preaching to the choir with obscure insider jargon, Johnson offers an outward-focused campaign that can sell libertarianism to the broad classically-liberal center of American politics. The vast unrepresented majority of fiscally conservative and socially liberal voters who have been disenfranchised by the two-party-only-system and are ripe to fuel the rise of a third major party. Gary Johnson is the only candidate for 2016 who has demonstrated he can substantially improve our party’s vote totals, winning more votes than all other alternative candidates combined in 2012, and was the first nominee ever to win over a million votes. For the 2016 presidential nomination of America’s third-largest political party, there’s hardly a choice at all.That’s why we here at the Old Dominion Libertarian Radio Network- Joe Enroughty, Jeff Kleb, Alex Butler, Jeffry Sanford, and Andy Craig- are unanimously endorsing Gov. Gary Johnson to be the 2016 Libertarian nominee for President of the United States.

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U.S. Congressional candidate Andy Craig of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has released his first campaign ad in the 2016 race which will pit him against incumbent Democrat Gwen Moore.

Craig, who recently celebrated his 25th birthday and is now constitutionally eligible to run for Congress, is chair of the Milwaukee Libertarian Party, Secretary of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, and a co-host of the popular internet radio program “The Old Dominion Libertarian Radio Network.” He ran for Wisconsin Secretary Of State in 2014 receiving about 60,000 votes.

The campaign ad, which is titled: “Stop Over Criminalization,” can be seen below.

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Dr. Marc Allan Feldman is seeking the Libertarian Party’s nomination for President Of The United States. Dr. Feldman is an anesthesiologist at The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He has run for political office in Ohio before, most recently as The Libertarian Party Of Ohio’s candidate for Attorney General. His Presidential Campaign is called “Votes Not For Sale,” and he is emphasizing getting big money out of politics. Click here to watch his campaign announcement video.

Dr. Feldman was raised in Southern Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Being around politicians throughout most of his childhood, he grew to dislike politics and felt there were no politicians worth voting for. It wasn’t until he discovered the Libertarian Party at age 50, that he began to take an interest in politics and thus began voting.

He is running for President because he believes he can make a difference and his plan is very simple. He titles it “BASE – My Progressive Plan to Shrink the Federal Government,” and here are the four practical steps it entails:

1. Balance the budget.2. Audit all Federal agencies and laws.3. Show the effectiveness of charitable organizations.4. Exempt with a tax rebate for donations to certified effective charities.

1. Balance the budget. Retired admiral and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, was not exaggerating when he warned that “the single biggest threat to our national security is our debt.” On the first day of my administration I would deliver to Congress a detailed balanced budget. While Congress debates and considers this plan, I will declare a National Fiscal Emergency and, by executive order, direct every government agency to apply strict controls to limit spending to available revenue. Not one single dollar will be added to our 18 Trillion dollar debt. The debt clock will stop dead.

2. Audit the Federal Government. Every agency and every federal law exist to serve a purpose, to make a difference in the world. Some may work well, and others poorly. The world is a complicated place, and there is a Law of Unintended Consequences. A law may be well intentioned, but cause no improvement at all, or at times make matters worse. For every agency and every federal law, objective measurable survey instruments will be used to give evidence whether they are working, making people safer, more secure, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, or sheltering the homeless. If the law is not working – it is repealed. If the agency is not improving the situation – it is eliminated. The job would be given to the Government Accountability Office whose mission is “to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide Congress with timely information that is objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair, and balanced.”

3. Show the Effectiveness of charitable organizations. The same survey instruments used to evaluate whether government laws and agencies are meeting their goals will be used voluntarily to evaluate the effectiveness of charitable organizations in meeting these same social goals. If charitable organization are equally or of greater effectiveness dollar for dollar than the federal government in making people safer, more secure, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, or sheltering the homeless or any other government social goal, that charity would be certified as an Effective Social Organization.

4. Exempt. If American taxpayers decide to donate to any charity certified as an Effective Social Organization, the taxpayer would not get just a tax deduction, but a dollar for dollar tax credit. This essentially causes an equivalent reduction in tax owed, making donations to Effective Social Organization free.

Because of the tax credit, billions of dollars being donated to these organization would cause a immediate revenue shortage. Because the budget is required to be balanced, spending cuts would be immediate and automatic. These cuts would be based on information, not politics. Because the government programs to be cut would be those that are managed more effectively by the voluntary charitable organizations.

This would lead to a simultaneous dramatic shrinking of the cost and intrusiveness of the Federal government and an expansion and empowerment of the private social safety net.

Dr. Feldman firmly believes that we have lost our way and are no longer following the Constitution, our founding document. Here is what he had to say concerning the Constitution and our runaway government:

I don’t want a concealed carry gun permit.I don’t need a same-sex marriage license.I don’t have to have a marijuana grower’s permit.I want freedom and a government that does not demand permits and licenses for things that are none of the government’s business. I don’t need all these permits and licenses, because I have a Constitution. Let’s respect that.

He has also stated:

I want my campaign to be a coalition, not a cult. I want people who agree with me that spending a billion dollars on a Presidential campaign is wrong. I want people who agree with me that we must balance our budget immediately. That we must honor our Constitution 100% and follow its instructions for a country that is more prosperous for all, more productive, and free.

Dr. Feldman wants to get big money out of politics not by creating more laws, but by informing the American people that they don’t have to vote for the big money candidates. His campaign is accepting donations that are capped at $5.00 per individual person. If you would like to make a donation to the campaign, click here.

Here is what his web site states about donations:

If you would like to become a supporter, please donate up to $5.

You cannot donate more.

You cannot make multiple donations with a total over $5.

That is not what we are about.

You will never receive a fundraising letter, fundraising call, or be asked to sponsor a fundraiser.

Because we do not do fundraising.

Because we think votes should not be for sale.

Dr. Feldman is tapping into a demographic that is usually ignored by both the Democratic and Republican Parties. He states:

Are you one of the 100 million Americans who could have voted in 2012, but stayed home? Did you think you could not make a difference? Did you think politicians only represent the rich? The only real voter fraud is telling people that their votes don’t count. They do. One hundred million struggling Americans can choose the next President. Even if you have to borrow money to pay bills. Even if you have had trouble with the law. Even if your English is not so good. You can have a President who will work for you and will represent you. You deserve that.It is your right. Your vote is your voice.Be heard.

He has also stated:

We should not allow people to hide greed, hatred, and lust for power behind a political philosophy.Conservative values are good: responsibility, our Constitution, and religious faith.Liberal values are good: fairness, tolerance, forgiveness, and charity.Libertarian values are good: freedom, personal empowerment, and non-aggression.

Just because we are against an ever-expanding, intrusive, surveillance state, does not mean we are against all government.Just because we believe government should not enforce morality, does not mean we are against morality.Just because we do not believe that government should take care of people, does not mean that we should not take care of each other.

On Tuesday, August 4th, 2015, Dr. Feldman will be visiting Richmond, Virginia for the first time as a Presidential Candidate. He will be speaking to The Patrick Henry Supper Club hosted by The Richmond Metro Libertarians at The Robin Inn Restaurant in Richmond’s Historic Fan District. Why not join us for dinner (beginning at 6pm) and stay for Dr. Feldman’s presentation. You do not have to be a member of the Libertarian Party to attend. He is a refreshing change from all of the other candidates getting the major media attention. Perhaps that is why they refuse to cover his campaign in their news cycles.

Invitations for a debate between the candidates, hosted by WDRB News – the local FOX news affiliate in Louisville, Kentucky – were sent out to McConnell and Grimes, but not Patterson.

A concerned voter contacted WDRB President Bill Lamb, who responded: “I’ve never heard of Mr. Patterson, which is part of the problem. A Libertarian candidate has zero chance of winning this election. He has no name recognition and no money to gain name recognition. While one could argue he might add some interesting ideas to a debate, he would also take precious time away from the only two candidates with a chance to win. To me, that’s not fair to the viable candidates nor to the voters who want to hear from the only two candidate who can win.”

Mr. Lamb obviously has some inside information that the rest of us are not privy to. I contacted Mr. Lamb’s office for comment, but no one has returned my call.

Mr. Lamb is either planning to rig the November Kentucky Senate Election, or he knows the person who is planning to do that. There is no other way he could know that David Patterson will not win.

More than likely, Mr. Lamb is not being honest and in reality he has no clue who will win the race in November. But because he dislikes Libertarians so, he’s decided to throw his weight around. As President of WDRB, he gets to decide who will participate in the debate and who will not. And up until now, he has not had to answer to anyone.

I’m asking all of you who read this blog to share this story far and wide. And when you’re done, please contact WDRB and let them know that you are not happy with their decision to exclude David Patterson. Please be kind when you do. That is the most important part. Below I’ll list the contact information for Mr. Lamb.

On a final note, here’s hoping that Matt Bevin does the right thing for his state and his country, and endorses David Patterson For U.S. Senate. You can e-mail the Bevin Campaign requesting that he do so by clicking here.

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Libertarian Candidate Lucas Overby, who is running for Congress in Florida’s 13th Congressional District (Pinellas County), is poised to win that race. Floridians in District 13 will be voting in a special election to replace the late Republican Congressman Bill Young, who passed away in 2013.

Libertarian Lucas Overby (Center) Debates His Opponents.

Democrat Alex Sink and Republican David Jolly are running scared, refusing to participate in any more debates or forums. Instead they are relying on mud-slinging TV ads and voter fear to try and win an election that seems all but hopeless for the two sub-par candidates. A list of debates and forums where one or both the Democratic and Republican candidates cancelled or backed out of, can be found here.

Jolly (R) admitted in a forum that “Lucas Overby is smarter than me.” You can read more about that here.

In a response to a question about immigration, Sink (D) had the following to say:

Lucas Overby is looking mighty good right now as he and his supporters canvass the district talking to voters and engaging them.

But Lucas needs your help. Please consider donating whatever you can to help in the final push for this special election being held on March 11th.

If Lucas wins, we all win. And that’s something grand for Florida – and America!

You can visit Lucas Overby’s web site here and donate to his campaign here.

Lucas Overby will be appearing on The Old Dominion Libertarian Radio Network’s Monday March 3rd show at 7pm ET, for an in-depth interview about his historic race to victory on March 11th. You can listen to the show here.

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On Monday, March 3rd, 2014, Joe Enroughty, Jeff Kleb, and Alex Butler will take to the air as “The Old Dominion Libertarian Radio Network.”

The three hosts will be discussing current events of the day with a Libertarian perspective. The program will air on the first and fourth Monday’s of the month at 7pm ET via Blog Talk Radio and will feature one special guest per episode.

You can view the show’s Facebook page here or go directly to their Blog Talk Radio page here.

Each of the hosts will bring their own Libertarian perspective to the program, making for lively conversation and an interesting learning environment.

To be a guest on the program, visit our Facebook page and send us a message.

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A special election is being held in Florida’s 13th Congressional District to elect a representative to fill the late Republican Bill Young’s Congressional seat. The election will be held on March 11th, 2014.

On Monday, February 3rd, 2014, Libertarian Congressional Candidate Lucas Overby won the 13th Congressional District (of Pinellas County, Florida) Debate with 45% in a post debate poll conducted by Bay News 9 (the network that hosted the debate).

One of the interesting things about this debate is that Lucas made history, becoming the first Libertarian candidate to participate in a nationally televised debate. The debate was hosted by Bay News 9 and picked up by C-Span (it aired on C-Span 3). Viewers all around the world were able to watch Lucas take on his Democratic and Republican opponents – and WIN!

For the first part of the debate, the Democratic and Republican candidates tried to ignore Lucas, referring to “my opponent” in their answers as if there were only two candidates in the race. Bay News 9 debate hosts quickly brought Lucas into the conversation and it was clear at that point that he had a firm grasp of what his constituents in Pinellas County wanted to see in the candidate they will be electing in March. His answers were clear and concise. He was the only debate participant that followed the rules set forth by the debate moderators.

Lucas’ opponents were not the only ones trying to ignore him. Journalists across the board, who wrote about the debate tried desperately to hide the Libertarian’s views from the public. Some articles barely gave his name a mention, while others mentioned his name a couple of times at best. None of them provided ANY of his answers to the various questions asked at the debate. You can view some of these articles here and here. Even C-Span refused to put his name up on the screen when they would come back from the commercial breaks. Lucas was undeterred and maintained a professional attitude for the entire debate.

The most interesting part of the debate came when each candidate was allowed to ask another candidate a question. Alex Sink (D) quizzed Lucas on the Libertarian Party platform and this gave him a chance to explain the platform to viewers who may not be familiar with it. David Jolly (R) directed his question to Sink, further bringing his claims that she is a carpetbagger, into the public eye. However, the best question of all came from Lucas, when he asked Sink to explain the difference between “entitlements” and “welfare.” After a long pause, and much stumbling over her own words, Sink gave an answer that clearly showed she had no idea what she was talking about.

Both the Republican and Democratic Candidates in the race were promoting the same, stale, ideas that have landed this country in it’s current economic mess. The clear choice for Pinellas County is Lucas Overby. He is a life long resident of the county (his opponents are not), and he has been travelling his district for a year, talking with voters and engaging them.